This application relates to food processing and more particularly is directed to a process and system for preparing apple sauce and aseptically storing it in bulk.
In the preparation of many types of high-quality apple sauce, it is conventional to mix several different varieties of apples. Each variety contributes to one or more of the desired characteristics of a superior apple sauce, e.g., color, consistency, flavor and aroma. One difficulty which has heretofore been encountered in the production of apple sauce is that these various varieties of apples do not all ripen at the same time. Accordingly, it has been customary to store the early-ripening varieties until all of the desired varieties are ripe for processing. Heretofore, apples have conventionally been stored in wooden boxes which have been maintained in a refrigerated environment. Such storage has resulted in appreciable loss.
In the first place, many apples are bruised during mechanical handling and deteriorate during storage even under refrigerated conditions. Moreover, some apples are lost due to a mold growth during the storage period. Finally, there is a loss in yield due to shrinkage, i.e., dehydration, of the apples during storage.
In addition to these disadvantages, the storage of apples in this manner is also objectionable because of the substantial cost of refrigeration and because of the increasing cost and scarcity of wooden boxes.
In conventional, commercial production of apple sauce, the apples are washed, peeled, cored and trimmed and are then blanched with hot water or steam, usually in a large cooker. Thereafter, the apple sauce is pulped through a screen and is packed in cans or other small containers which are filled at a temperature of at least 180.degree. F., are then held in boiling water and are thereafter cooled prior to shipment.
One of the difficulties with this conventional method of producing apple sauce is that the texture is degraded during blanching and an appreciable amount of the flavor and aromatic constituents of the apples are lost in the blanching operation. Moreover, I have determined that apple sauce prepared in this conventional manner must be packed at once and cannot be stored in bulk aseptically without severe deterioration of quality.